Embarrassed CPM winds up Kasaragod meet after Kerala HC rap

Court directs collector to restrict people at all meetings to 50; ruling party decides to wrap up Thrissur district conference today
Kerala High Court. (File Photo| A Sanesh, EPS)
Kerala High Court. (File Photo| A Sanesh, EPS)

KASARAGOD/KOCHI: A Defiant CPM was forced to wrap up its three-day Kasaragod district conference on day one itself after the High Court on Friday pulled up the party for organising the event flouting the Covid protocol. The CPM has also decided to wind up its Thrissur district conference on its second day on Saturday.

Around 400 persons were present at the venue when the party flag was hoisted ahead of the conference at Ambalathumkara in Kasaragod’s Madikai grama panchayat.The high court directed the Kasaragod collector to ensure that no meetings were conducted within the district allowing participation of more than 50 persons for a period of one week.

The court issued the order on a public interest litigation challenging the holding of the CPM conference amid the raging pandemic. While the LDF government had imposed restrictions across the state limiting the number of people who can attend any function, it exempted districts where CPM conferences are being held from the rules, leading to political outrage.

At 3.45pm, the High Court started hearing the writ petition. In 15 minutes, the court ordered the party not to go ahead with the event for the next 10 days. Around the same time, the party leaders in Madikai, Kasaragod, cut short the event by two days, cancelling Sunday’s programmes. Around 5.45pm, the party informed the media through its sources that it was wrapping up the conference by 10.30pm on Friday.

The court asked whether the Covid protocol does not apply to the political parties in the state. It also directed the district collector to ensure that the Covid protocol is strictly followed as per the notification issued by the state government.A division bench comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice C Jayachandran issued the order on the petition filed by Arun Raj P N, an advocate clerk in the High Court.

“The government cannot blow hot and cold by saying that they are not looking at the TPR (test positivity rate), are more concerned with the hospitalisation which is very minimal, as propounded by the state and again fall back on the TPR to convince us of the minimal severity,” the court said.

“Having negated TPR, the government cannot again fall back upon the TPR statistics to say that there could be public meetings conducted without any restrictions,” the court said.Pointing out that the state government had imposed stringent norms even for the Republic Day celebrations by not allowing more than 50 people, the court said “we cannot understand that there are relaxations made to the restrictions.”

The District Disaster Management Committee on January 17 issued an order allowing only 50 persons in political, marriage, and funeral functions. However, the district collector has revoked the order. The restrictions were lifted to facilitate the CPM conference, the petitioner said.

The CPM decision to go ahead with the conferences had drawn flak from the opposition. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan alleged that the government tweaked the Covid protocols to hold CPM district conferences. “Till now, the Covid restrictions were imposed based on the test positivity rate. However, they changed the rules on Thursday to hold the CPM’s Kasaragod and Thrissur district conferences,” he told reporters in Kochi. Satheesan also asked the CPM to stop the Thrissur conference as well following the court order.

Meanwhile, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said it was the government that brought in Covid related restrictions and the party has not intervened in it. He said a decision on Alappuzha district conference, scheduled for January 28, will be taken based on the situation. “We have urged party workers and mass organisations to actively involve in Covid prevention measures. The LDF government has taken measures on a war footing.”

(With inputs from T’Puram)

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